Dun Laoghaire Thread. No traffic, commuting, transport chat.

Gaspode

OK folks this thread has gone way OT in the last while.

Stick to the thread topic or it will be closed.

As someone that used Myrtle Square daily till it was closed I'm hoping there is enough seating in new design to accommodate the lunch time workers. On mild days there is constant stream of people getting Tesco meal deals and sitting out. With lunch now being so expensive in the cafes, it was a great alternative to sitting at a desk.

I'm also hoping the new hanging garden structure doesn't block out all the sun on the Argos side. It was the one place in Dun Laoghaire town centre that actually kept the sun for most of the day and evening. It would have made a great outdoor cafe or pub area.

Larbre34

To my knowledge, Dunphys will have slightly larger outdoor seating area when this is all finished.

On the wider issue of outdoor gathering space, the answer is yes, there will be a lot both on the Square and down Convent Lane, but don't forget the Council plan to close Georges Street altogether adjacent that location and put trees, plants and seating on what is now roadway.

Now, they don't have permission for that yet and its still very contentious locally, but it would be just like DLR to peg back the seating on the locations they are already working on to try and get the Georges Street plan over the line.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120838819#Comment_120838819

Unfortunately, the Dunphys side is very much in the shade - the rest of the square however is a sun trap. Plus Dunphys usually only open around 4pm and don't serve food, this may change of course with a new square open to them.

Not going to happen but would be good if Starbucks could do a swap with Dealz in Bloomfields. The decal windows used for the Dealz shops are awful and add nothing to town centres.

Interesting to know about seating hopefully going on the roadway on Georges Street. However, sounds like this will still leave me and many other displaced workers without sit down facilities for some time to come . The waterfront is not always an option as the wind can be quite cutting plus the tables in the square were much more useful than trying to balance your lunch on your lap.

Dub.

Anyone hear about trouble in Ballybrack?

duploelabs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867463#Comment_120867463

When?

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867479#Comment_120867479

Today. A load of lads who all happened to have the day off were protesting and smashing windows at ridge hall. Apparently they don’t want to share welfare with refugees who are due to move in

for some reason they had tricolours with them.

duploelabs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867644#Comment_120867644

Yeah, just took a walk up there. Lots of guards and people standing round, saw the windows smashed in the old insomnia which I fail to understand the reasoning behind breaking them.

dublinman1990

How Garda cars/vans were there in Ballybrack today?

Was the number of protestors larger than the recent ones in Dún Laoghaire?

Larbre34

Bottom feeding yellow pack fascist incels, meet everyone.

Dub.

I`m hearing the people leading these attacks are local drug dealers.

Larbre34

Funny that, drug dealers usually like to keep a low profile and tend not to mind when more potential customers arrive on their patch.

I know nothing about that suggestion, one way or the other, but I did notice that many of those live streaming the protest activity, weren't local, but were the usual gobshites who purport to speak for all these communities and rent a crowd to stage these incidents when they arise.

dublinman1990

I just saw the RTÉ News report about the incident in Ballybrack last night. I hope the councillors father who was was mentioned in report recovers from that frightening ordeal. It is very scary to hear that an innocent elderly man was impacted by these scumbags in Ballybrack last night while he was just sitting there watching television in peace in his home.

Dub.

I`ve seen the photos and it is indeed mainly local pushers and users. Ironically, wrapping themselves with tricolors like they are patriots, when most of them are parasites on society.

xaforb

A few of us did a nostalgia walk around the town and now looking for a small bit of info.

A good many years ago we did the Shackleton Exhibition in the old ferry terminal but it now looks deserted. Seems a shocking waste of a valuable space. Anything in the pipeline there?

Hadn't been down around the Lower Georges St. area in a long, long time. The old library building looks sad. Are there any plans to do something with it?

Also, just across the road from it there is a newish looking building occupied by the Bespoke Sofa Co. with apartments on the upper floors. Anyone remember what was there before? One of our group thought she recalled there was a hotel somewhere along there.

All or any info welcome.

frash

Ferry Terminal is to be turned into some sort of remote working hub the last I heard.

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2022/06/13/dun-laoghaires-former-ferry-terminal-to-be-leased-as-co-worker-space/

Old library is going to be used by IADT on Kill Ave for some classes / workshops

https://iadt.ie/news/iadt-announce-agreement-with-dlr-to-expand-campus-to-carnegie-library-dun-laoghaire/

cobham

WAs the Bespoke place formerly Iceland outlet?

Yakov P. Golyadkin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120994860#Comment_120994860

Yes, as I recall Iceland was recessed from the street. I don't recall there being a hotel there though.

xaforb

Many thanks for replies. Great stuff.

Gareth Keenan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120994001#Comment_120994001

I think the Quarterdeck remote working proposal for the ferry terminal is dead

Personally, I'd love to see it as a school. The town really misses secondary schools. And it would be a great campus.

tc20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120997784#Comment_120997784

Showing my age here, but I seem to recall McCulloughs (I think) in that location back in the 70s/early 80s. It was from what I can remember a home furnishings type of shop.

Also a small electrical goods store just up the road where the Asian store is now on the corner of Wellington Street.

Phat Cat

Close, it was McGovern. Good memory thought. It was later a Knowles Electrics store.

As for Iceland there was a petrol station there before it opened in 1996.

tc20

Ahh Knowles Electrics - that's it. McGoverns would have been before my time.

I fairly sure the home furnishings store was on the Iceland/Petrol station site.

Was there a McCulloughs in D/L? A large furniture store (sofas/beds etc) at the other end of Georges Street, where Dunnes is now?

Phat Cat

I was born in the 80's so I've no idea but I always remembered the petrol station beside Smyths Pub that was replaced by Iceland and now apartments of course.

Anyway here's an interesting article about Lower George's Street

https://localwiki.org/dl/Lower_George%27s_Street

Glencarraig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121011831#Comment_121011831

Thats McGoverns grocery at the other end of the town, across from the Peoples Park. McCulloughs was where Iceland opened and Knowles was on the corner of Mary Street.

Yakov P. Golyadkin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121011328#Comment_121011328

That was still there as recently as 2009

The building on the opposite corner of Wellington Street has been empty since that time, any ideas as to what it was when occupied?

Larbre34

It was a Revenue Commissioners vehicle reg office up to about 2004.

Iceland didn't in fact replace the Texaco petrol station beside Smyth's Pub, rather it went onto the site which had previously been Dockrells Hardware. That happened around 1990 if memory serves.

Also, that same Texaco station had a long established car dealers, Donnelly and Fitzgerald Toyota, attached to it.

Gareth Keenan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121013131#Comment_121013131

it was QTH Computers when I was a lad. Home computers like Spectrums, Commodore 64s, that kind of stuff. Possibly boring word processors as well, but who cared about all that in the 80s. My memory is likely wrong but I remember the hardware shop a bit further down the road being a Murdochs. There was also a hardware shop in Glasthule where Cavistons new restaurant is. I've an old Thom's Directory lying around here somewhere, if I find it I'll post a listing.

McCullagh's was like a mini department store where Penneys is now, I think. Lee's Department store was in situ where Dunnes is now.

Gareth Keenan

apologies for the format/quality. These are from Thoms 1971

Yakov P. Golyadkin

https://www.dlrcoco.ie/news/general-news/st-patricks-day-parade-returns-dun-laoghaire-town-2024

Should be interesting. Let's hope it's a success.

dball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121011831#Comment_121011831

@Phat Cat Where did you get that picture of McGoverns, is it from a book?

Mav11

Very young, very sad....RIP.

For the most part I believe he had vision and did a good job.

https://www.irishtimes.com/obituaries/2023/11/26/bob-hannan-architect-and-urbanist-made-a-huge-contribution-to-improvement-of-dun-laoghaire/

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121263717#Comment_121263717

Gas seeing that picture pop up here, that was my Great Grandad's shop, owned it right up into the 90s if I remember correctly when the family sold it. There was actually a piece (I think it was on RTE?) about pensioner's working where they interviewed a few of them. My mam had it on tape for years, keep meaning to ask her to try to dig it out!

My gran has an original of that photo hanging in the house.

He was a really lovely guy, always remember him doing magic tricks finding pound coins behind my ear when I was a kid.

cobham

Just back from a trip to Dun Laoire.... I notice that dreadful sign over shop that replace Connolly's shoes is still there. Surely that should be replaced? I see newly renovated loo's in the old shopping centre but at 50 cent a go with credit card scan. All of top floor is non retail save for pen shop with medical use as well as Specsavers audio outlet.

JayRoc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121812972#Comment_121812972

Yeah, tbf, that shopfront is awful. There's no need for it.

Tabnabs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121813469#Comment_121813469

Best bit of free advertising that shop ever did was to put that signage up...

Nickindublin

Unfortunately thats the only type os shops thats attracted to Dun Laoghaire. The shopping centre is a disaster TBH. It should be a premium destination in south dublin but its not.

cobham

And also the amount of charity shops = a sure indicator of poor business climate? I was sad to see M&S food outlet go. I hoped it would expand into adjacent Connollys Shoes. The Aviva outlet got me down there twice a year to do business with insurance, now gone. And the Argos was worth a try if looking for item out of stock elsewhere.

RoscommonHero

My partner works in the ISPCC/Childline. They opened an office in Dun Laoghaire a few months back and they are having a family fun run on the west pier on the 30th March. Families can sign up here: https://www.ispcc.ie/event/family-fun-run/

(let me know if this is OK to post)

Nickindublin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121819447#Comment_121819447

Just Vape shops and charity shops. Dun Laoghaire is prime example how to ruina town by a council. To note i see the boarding down from the commercial units that have being vacant for years besides Dunnes Stores. Think Dunnes own these themselves. Hopefully the will do something good with them.

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121822228#Comment_121822228

Dunnes have been responsible for that eyesore for the last 20-30 years. What could the council have done to prevent that?

Larbre34

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121822228#Comment_121822228

You obviously don't really understand the limitations of planning law, or the powers of County Councils.

Nickindublin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121822358#Comment_121822358

I didnt say the council could do anything. I just said i noted the boarding was down. I did hear a year ago that Dunnes wanted to do something with it but that some one was living above them so they were limited in what they could do.

Nickindublin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121822735#Comment_121822735

I am not an expert but i am sure laws can be changed to a certain standard that all business signage should adhere too. The council did or used to give a grant to do up shop fronts.

Yakov P. Golyadkin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121822941#Comment_121822941

They still offer grants but some businesses would rather not accept them. The hairdresser a few doors down (formerly Majella Hair Care) is being renovated and they have new and improved signage.

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121822358#Comment_121822358

Are those horrible units next to Dunnes actually being fitted out then?

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121822735#Comment_121822735

What can the councils do?

Its mad how many retail units lie idle in Dublin for years and years.

And its often not for lack of demand, its just that the property never hits the market.

Surely some Local Vacancy Tax can be applied to the owners?

They should be taxed into either opening the unit or selling it.

Larbre34

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121822941#Comment_121822941

A condition being, only if they are going to be occupied and put back into use.

Besides, the Council funded the mural on the hoardings there, as a pilot for the Dun Laoghaire walls public art project. The Council has done as much as it can do against privately owned property.

Blut2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828954#Comment_121828954

A yearly vacancy tax rate of 5% (or even higher) would do wonders to improve Dun Laoghaire, and lots of other towns across Ireland. Even better if it applied monthly, on a pro-rata basis, to encourage haste.

Theres absolutely no excuse for commercial properties on main streets to be empty, some business would work there if the rental price was right.

0ph0rce0

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828939#Comment_121828939

Was down there yesterday. Lads were out sanding down the fronts. Either going on the market or just being given a facelift.